Student Robotics Competition Held in Hawaii
UH students preparing their autonomous robotic vessel at RobotX at Sand Island (Photo: Navatek)
Long time kama’aina company Navatek, together with RoboNation, the Office of Naval Research, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and the support of Hawaii’s Senator Brian Schatz, have brought an international robotics boat competition to Hawaii for the first time – raising awareness of the maritime industry and demonstrating how technology can be used to care for and better understand the ocean – a perfect combination for Hawaii’s youth.
The Maritime RobotX Challenge brings together more than 200 students from 13 universities in Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. – including a team from the University of Hawaii. Students have been busy competing on Sand Island for the last few days for $100,000 in prizes.
Navatek is providing all local logistical support for the entire competition – committing significant manpower and resources to support the event and the students. Navatek is responsible for designing, engineering, assembling and installing all on-water course elements and technical direction for course design, challenge task design and judging support. Navatek is also providing all support craft and operations on their own Navatek-designed and built Sea Blade boats. Navatek has also been committed to expanding the reach of this competition to include middle and high schools to increase interest in STEM especially as it relates to the ocean.
“We are more than happy and excited to support RobotX in Hawaii,” said Eric Schiff, Vice President at Navatek. “Maritime robotics is an ideal nexus for our youth and Hawaii’s future. Boats and robotics makes sense for Hawaii, and we are committed to helping future generations learn and enhance Hawaii’s maritime industry. We are working hard in the hopes of bringing RobotX back to Hawaii in 2018.”
February 2024
